Stephen King - you're no Bruce Lee.

But then I have only seen the replay once on the news...

I hear Jeff White has had to have 5 plates insered to repair the damage.

If he got the ball first, unfortunate accident.

Would you have given Dan Wells 8 weeks for an accidental follow thru after goal of the year last year?

regards,

REB

Let's just say it was an accident. He still should be out for a while IMO. White is still in hospital FFS. King should take more care, he could have killed him.

regards,

REB

By Tim Lane
September 6, 2005

LAST Saturday at the MCG, umpire Justin Schmitt assessed Steven King's mid-air kick that landed in Jeff White's face as dangerous. He paid a free kick. He classed King's action, according to the wording of the laws, as "kicking or attempting to kick the ball in a manner likely to cause injury". In paying the free kick he verbalised the action as "in danger".

In another section of the game's laws it is categorically stated that to kick another player, deliberately, recklessly or negligently is a reportable offence.

Yet the AFL's match review panel has found King in no way culpable for what happened. It clearly disagrees with Schmitt's assessment that King's action was dangerous and ascribes no negligence or recklessness to it. In other words, it considers that it is acceptable and reasonable for a ruckman to attempt to kick the ball out of the air in an aerial contest and if an opponent's head is in the way, too bad.

This is an outrageously bad decision. We hear frequently these days, in all walks of life, about "duty of care". Surely King, at best, failed to exercise due care. The match review panel is guilty of worse. The AFL, if it allows this to pass without further consideration, will fail the game.

This is not to judge King harshly. He is a footballer who, in my experience as an observer, is without malice. In this incident, though, he has behaved negligently at best and inflicted a horrible injury. I have no doubt he will be mortified by what happened to his opponent.

The game, though, cannot allow such an incident to pass. To do so is to condone such dangerous play. It would be to take no responsibility for this outcome.

There have been many occasions over the past 15 years when I have felt the game's old tribunal was overly punitive. There have been instances in which it has seemed that players were punished for incidents that were unfortunate outcomes of a game that produces inevitable collisions. At times, in my view, such judgements have been made with the protection of the game's image as a higher priority than the dispensation of justice.

This is quite different. We are dealing here with an unorthodox action that an opponent is entitled to imagine would not occur, and the consequences are dreadful.

There will, of course, be no further action taken. The AFL's football supremo, Adrian Anderson, has too much at stake in the credibility of the judicial process that he put in place this season to overrule one of its committees.

It is probably also hoping for too much that he give renewed consideration to the composition of his committees as a result of this and other controversial outcomes. He has loaded both levels of his judicial structure with ex-players. Those committees require a broader range of football and legal experience. The game is about more than players. Its whole constituency extends to millions of people, and perceptions of justice are the perceptions of the collective.

Jeff White has five plates and 14 screws in his head, from a wild, flying boot, and the game will do nothing about it. There have been many unsatisfactory outcomes delivered by Anderson's judicial system this year. This is among the worst.
The King-White incident

At no stage was King looking anywhere but at the ball. Despite the terrible injuries suffered by White, the contact made by King was accidental and therefore was not a reportable offence. No further action was required.
- AFL match review panel

This is an outrageously bad decision ... the AFL, if it allows this to pass without further consideration, will fail the game.
- Tim Lane

How the hell can you compare these incidents?!?!?!

King took a flying kick at a ball near a players head, whilst Hird and McVeigh were both running in opposite directions and collided. Ridiculous comparison.

A better comparison would be Cloke taking a swipe at the footy in the 2002 prelim and collecting Edwards' head.

What happened to him, Benno?

Of course adding the credible (LMAO) ravings of Tim Lane and Mike Sheehan who have played as much AFL football as you and I between them really adds some much need authority to your arguement.

You blokes have been saying how soft is our game getting but now you want rub blokes out from a final for accidently hurting someone? If King had deliberately kicked White fair enough but HE WAS GOING FOR THE BALL...that is why there is no report gentlemen and this is the way it should be. Even Byron Pickett or Cam Mooney wouldn't have been rubbed out for that kick that shattered White's jaw.

Let's bring out the netball bibs boys..after all, The Phoenix has out performed Carlton and Essendon in recent seasons, and isn't that what this little rant is REALLY all about?

HANDS OFF KING!!

regards,

REB

That 'netball bibs' line was lame as. So was dragging out the 'they-never-played-so-what-the-hell-would-they-know' line.

How many weeks for Fevola for stupidity? As many as you like.

Because contact took place 1.8 metres of the ground, it makes it better ????????

There does not have to be intent to get rubbed out - sorry REB he should have been rubbed out.

I really don't think it needs to be set as a precedent either, because I couldn't see any player deliberately kicking an opponent that high or hard in the face on purpose just because they think they won't cop any weeks for it.

Err, no.

It's about this:

Jeff White like a crash victim

MELBOURNE ruckman Jeff White had the face of a road trauma victim on Saturday night, according to Demons football manager Chris Fagan.

Fagan said White needed five plates and 14 screws to repair an upper jaw that was broken in three places by Geelong ruckman Steven King when he tried to soccer the ball out of mid-air in a ruck contest.

"It was similar to a car accident where you hit your face on the steering wheel or the dashboard," Fagan said last night.

"It does sound like a lot of metalwork in the face, but that's the absolute truth."

White also suffered a broken nose.

The noise of the blow could be heard by fans in the lower tiers of the MCG members' stand.
____________________________________________________________________

If it had of been his fist he would have gotten two at least.

"Steven could have got very easily injured by Jeff White's head, lucky not to break a leg really." - Bomber Thompson.

Idiot.

Thank God they only have three more days left in their season.